Withering
An invisible tide which turned out to be Stumper, shaking her awake.
"Come on, doe," she grunted. "You've had your rest. Now we need to-"
She was cut off by Wallflower grabbing her hand and pressing it to her tear-streaked cheek, staring at her in distress and making soundless shapes of grief with her mouth.
"Doe?" Stumper asked. "Wallflower, what's wrong?"
She could do no more than mutely weep in reply; Everfree had stolen her voice, and now it looked like her life.
"Hold on," Stumper tried to soothe her. "Start dreaming, we can talk there. It sounds like you could use it."
Wallflower nodded, then cast herself back on the ground, frantically crawling into the aether...
Her sobs rent the ethereal plane, cries of anguish and grief tearing through the mental realm.
"Sh," Stumper tried to comfort her, eyes dimming in shared pain. "Sh, sh sh sh sh. It's alright, Wallflower, it's alright, I'm right here. I'm here for you, Wallflower, I'm right here."
Eventually, her friend's gentle embrace and soft words managed to help her tears coagulate, until her sobs turned to clots of mucus. Her emotional wound staunched for the moment, Stumper released her and asked, "Now, can you tell me what made you so upset? Did you have a nightmare?"
"N," she sniffled. "no. I-I didn't sleep, actually; I-I used it as a chance to test my casting."
Stumper sighed, shaking her head. "Too much training is just as bad as too little, doe. Anyway, so you were practicing your casting, what upset you so? First host-death?"
"I got lost," she sobbed. "I was trying to find a road someone mentioned, but then something started hurting me, forcing me away, and by the time I managed to stop I didn't know where I was. There," she sniffed. "there was a host there, though, one that it felt like-like Gaea had used a while ago. I-I used it, but-but it was a trap, or something."
"A trap?" Stumper asked. "Set by who?"
"The deep-lairds," Wallflower cried.
Stumper's eyes widened, glowing like two miniature Suns. She scrutinized Wallflower closely, then sighed. "It's true," she murmured. "There is a touch of elvish about you, now. They left their scent on you, doe. Not a bad one, though; seems almost-"
"'I will marry none so much lesser than I,'" Wallflower whispered, causing a hush to descend over the aether. "They told me, Stumper, told me why they were so angry at Gaea. And," she swallowed. "they told me about you, about why you've lived so long. About how I," she looked down at herself. "might live that long, too."
Stumper frowned at her. "You didn't know? I thought Gaea would've told you."
"She doesn't tell me a lot, it seems," Wallflower spat. "I learned more from talking with the Nilfin than I have from her. Your condition, my lifespan, what she said to Obyrn that started this all; what else is she keeping secret from me, Stumper? What else isn't she telling me?"
"Nothing that she thinks will hurt your performance," Stumper reassured her. "She wouldn't hide anything that would stop you from doing your duty, doe, don't worry."
"I'm more than my duty," she snapped back. "I'm more than-than a tool Gaea can throw in the shed whenever she doesn't need it. And-and some of the stuff she hasn't told me has hurt my performance, even-even if she might not have thought it would. If I hadn't been so caught off-guard by what Tein told me, I might've been able to learn more useful stuff, like-like when the Nilfin are actually planning to attack or-or whatever the Ungocalar is. If Gaea had actually told me about those things, or if you had-"
Stumper shifted a bit at that, causing Wallflower to sigh. "Except she ordered you not to, didn't she?" she asked rhetorically. "Didn't want you to 'distract' or 'confuse' me or whatever excuse she came up with."
"I thought you didn't need to know," Stumper murmured. "You're more than your duty, yes, but not right now; the Windigos are coming, and the deep-lairds are going to help them. There is no time for distraction now; either we stand or the world falls, and we cannot afford to waver. I... I didn't think you needed to know some of what the Nilfin told you, and what I did I thought Gaea would tell you." She looked down at her heavy, wooden feet. "I was only trying to help."
Wallflower stared back at her, jaw agape. Stumper, the woman she'd so recently thought of as her friend, had stabbed her in the back, keeping secrets from her, forcing her to make a decision she couldn't take back without all the facts. Tein, the leader of the people who were planning to, indirectly, kill her was more trustworthy than the woman she'd called a friend.
"I'll talk to Gaea about this," Stumper offered. "let her know how upset this made you. I'm sure once she knows about this, she'll-"
"I need some air," Wallflower blurted out, her phantasmal breath coming in short gasps. Before Stumper could stop her, she rushed away in a stream of tears, throwing herself heedlessly into the aether. She didn't know where she was casting herself, and she didn't particularly care; all she cared about was that she needed air, to get away from her betrayer, from the thing that had deceived her, from the liars who'd stolen away her voice and her life.
The Everfree River ran through the forest, divided into three branches; Dyma and Dymo flowed from hidden pools and streams in the north down into the Everfree Lake basin, pooling together and then heading south united. Near the edge of the forest, at the Frayed Ford, they joined with the last of their number, Megalos, then rolled away east to eventually join with the Neighagra and flow into the Sea.
The River and its branches were the heart of the forest; fueled by snowmelt, rain, and stray runoff from the Canter, the thunder of the water was the Everfree's pulse, pumping lifeblood through the veins of the various streams and pools that lurked under the branches. Without their rushing bounty, Gaea's kingdom would have been barren, not even her power being able to sustain the magnificence of the Everfree unaided. If she was the queen of the forest, then the River was its king.
Beside the broad Megalos one of the River's subjects, a thin willow, dwelt in a patch of sunlight, its leaves tasting the foam as the river rolled along. Every so often, one of them was swept away, sailing south in the crashing foam. Long- and light-limbed, Men called it a weeping willow, for its loose sheaves reminded them of tears.
Its name was even more fitting now, as Wallflower cast herself inside of it and wailed to the sky.
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You’ll definitely want to make a note on this chapter thwt you added to the earlier one. Anyone who’s been following along won’t see the one there if they just look at the newest entry. (They may look back and see what they missed given that first sentence, but still.)
In any case... yeah, this is going to be extremely tricky to work out. I can’t blame Stumper for not knowing how to handle an emotionally vulnerable teenager from an era centuries after her own adolescence, nor Wallflower for being so hurt at this betrayal of trust. Really, it’s up to Gaea herself to try to clear up this one, and I doubt whether Wallflower will listen to anything she has to say.
Oh, and there’s the whole elvish intelligence thing. Good luck getting that information where it needs to go when the only one who does is a mute girl stuck in the woods.
We’ll have to see where this goes from here. Though I suspect we’ll be focusing on the more local issues next.
Last chapter, we saw the benefits of proper communication.
This chapter, we see the consequences of poor communication.
I am sad and angry and in desperate need of something to punch.
10882483
*carefully moves out of range of wrath*
10882446
Added, thanks for the advice.
Poor Stumper, like she said she was just trying to help. She's been trying to be a good friend to Wallflower, but the way she's gone about that has tragically undercut her intentions. And, like you said, you can't blame Wallflower for her reaction; she basically had to go to the enemy she was supposed to be fighting in order to learn that Wallflower's master isn't as blameless as she made herself out to be and that her service might very well last for the rest of her life.
That was something important I realized while writing this; Wallflower Blush did not want to be caught up in this. She wanted no part in all this wizardry and war: all she wanted was her garden, like Samwise Gamgee from The Lord of the Rings. She's been torn from her home and forced to fight in a war she didn't even know about, and now she learns that there's secret lore that's been kept from her and that she'll be trapped in her new role until she dies, which, thanks to her commander's interference, might be a long time in coming. So much has changed for her, all without either her consent or knowledge. She's a slice-of-life anime character suddenly thrown into a fantasy-adventure one, with virtually no time to adjust. There are some parts of it that have been nice (her joy at casting), but at what cost has she gained them? She's on an adventure with Gandalf as patron and Aragorn as companion, but she's had no preparation or preexisting desire for adventure, Gandalf turns out to be Saruman, and Aragorn is less a trailblazer and more a soldier following orders. With friends like these, who needs enemies?
And even if Wallflower does, given the words of Gaea's we've already heard in the story, will they do more good than harm? 'I will marry none so much lesser than I' is not a good way to turn down a proposal, after all, even someone who thinks of themselves as a social sprout like
meWallflower can see that. For all we know, Gaea could make this even worse, which would be bad; however low her Charisma (Persuasion) checks might be, she is right about the Windigos, and according to Tein they won't come alone. So not only is the intelligence the elves gave confined to a mute girl stuck in the woods, as you put it, the knowledge of the Windigos' return is confined to her, her likewise-stuck friend, and an egotist who seems to have a way with words less like Elrond's than Gollum's.As for where we go from here, I'm trying to get into a cycle with these stories, alternating between the three main branches of the story; Everfree, Cloudsdale, and Castellot; with a few interludes thrown in here and there. Next up, we rejoin Applejack and the others in
RohanCloudsdale to see what's been happening since Thunderlane showed them that 'What-in-the-world' thing in Children of the Storm.10889067
I don’t think I understood that reference.
So homestria is a world?
So she’s inside of a vision?
And those same elves were in the everfree forest?
So willow is timber’s father?
I may forget that, but I’ll try to remember.
Because it’s similar to what genji believes.
10889238
Google it, it should clear things up.
It's a bit complicated. "Homestria" can refer to three things; 1) The world of Homestria 2) The country of the Kingdom of Homestria, located within that world, or 3) The continent on which that kingdom stands. It's similar to how "America" can refer either to the country of the United States of America or the North (or South) American continent. Context can usually provide clues to which one the specific use of the word is referencing, thankfully, so we don't have to guess: for instance, because most of Stumper's references to Homestria occur in the context of other worlds, we can fairly safely assume that she means "Homestria, the world" as opposed to the kingdom or the continent. It can get a bit tricky, though. Thanks for asking, and making me actually clarify that.
Yes.
Wallflower saw Nilfin in the Everfree back in Up Through the Roots, if that's what you're referring to.
Yes.
That's all anyone can ask. And speaking of remembering, please, in future, if you make a point-by-point reply like this, please use the Quote function to show what parts of either the story or the comment you're replying to that you are talking about, it makes it much easier to follow along.
I thought as much, I was more wondering what that is.
10889311
I’ll see what I can find.
Wow. That’s a lot to take in.
Not exactly. Does that mean magic was already in the human world before sunset came around?
It’s not really something I’m used to doing, but I’ll try and keep that in mind.
You know, despite the fact he’s half-machine he’s still a man on the inside.
10889588
Yeah, it is.
Yep, though it was fading before she brought Twilight's crown over. Like Celestia said in The Gifts of Gaea, Sunset brought magic to Homestria, but she brought it back, not for the first time.
That's all I can ask.
10890073
So their planet is called homestria?
So will it fade again?
10890141
Yep.
Perhaps in future, but judging by the behavior Sunset was alerted to back in The Sun in Flight, magic growing more powerful in the world (as opposed to staying localized), that appears unlikely.
10890249
The characters don’t get confused by that?
Damn, homestria gets all the fun.
10890269
Like I said, context clues make it a lot easier to tell which meaning someone's trying to use.
And peril. Don't forget the peril.
10890431
Oh ok.
That’s true, too. But, nothing life threatening.
These last two chapters just made me realize how bad this really is.
10882446
Not bad of an analysis.
10892709
How bad the situation is, or my writing?
10892744
The situation. Your writing is all good.
10892756
Ah, thank you!
10892772
You’re welcome.
10892773
Ok, I see it.
10892803
Ohh. So aether is just a place?
Well that’s a sucky gift.
Wow, plants are complicated.
Narrative convenience?
It doesn’t? I would assume getting squashed would.
The part about hammers and blows.
If she’s in the present, then does that mean gaea isn’t a sleep?
It depends on how long a moon is and what she did.
That is true.
10892842
Somewhat. Think of it like the dreamscape, Luna's realm from "Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?".
It has its perks, and its costs.
And creatures are even more so.
Making things easier for the author, possibly at the cost of logic or realism.
Gaea hasn't fully manifested yet, so him getting squashed isn't as certain as one might think. Plus, just because someone dies doesn't mean their life loses meaning. Adagio's death doesn't mean the end of her legacy, for example: the impact she's had on her sisters and the world at large will live on long past the time when her death-rattle falls quiet.
Ah. Basically, Tein's warning her that multiple attacks (or blows) are coming, and almost all at once, combining together to strike with the force of a hammer. 'The hammer-stroke' is his name for the launching of these attacks, the start of the Windigos' and their allies' big push.
She isn't fully asleep, yes, but neither is she fully awake; conditions aren't right for her to unveil her full power, drastically limiting her capabilities for the moment.
What I mean is that Wallflower remained distrustful of Sunset for too long, long after most of the other Wondercolts managed to forgive her. Caution is admirable, but not to this degree; if trying to reform herself for (what appears to be) several months or even a year, as well as saving the world, isn't enough to convince you that someone's changed, what is? There comes a time when trust is needed, otherwise paralysis or self-destructive behavior (like Forgotten Friendship) results.
10893046
What are the differences?
Perks? All I’ve seen were the costs?
That is true.
Ohh. So that’s what it’s called?
Oh yeah. I forgot about her, but wouldn’t her impacts most likely be negative?
Aren’t they just elves?
So she’s hibernating?
True, but sometimes changing isn’t enough. Although, it does help.
10893134
Many and varied, but in concept (a place side-by-side with but not exactly in physical space) they're the same.
Living for several hundred years is a perk, and there are others that, like you implied, we simply haven't seen yet.
That's what I call it, anyway.
Not all of them. She was a would-be conqueror, yes, but she was also the fire that reforged Sunset and the other Rainbooms, and her influence on her sisters was, as we shall eventually see, not entirely negative either. She made a lot of bad choices in her life, yes, but no one is purely good or evil; like much else in this series, her influence will still be felt, for ill and for good.
Wallflower's audience is only elves, yes, but Tein is talking about non-elven participants in the coming war. Evil is assembling its own coalition (however loose) to attack Homestria; almost everything's coming out of the woodwork as the hour of doom approaches. As for who those other participants are, we shall have to wait and see.
More like she's being forced to self-quarantine until everything's safe for her.
Then what is? Sunset changed and showed a clear desire to make up for what she did in the past; if Wallflower had talked to her about how she felt, I'm sure that Sunset would've tried to atone for that, too. And it needed to be Wallflower who reached out; if the concept of "innocent until proven guilty" is to be preserved, then the responsibility of demonstrating that a wrong was done and needs to be addressed is on the accuser, as opposed to the responsibility of demonstrating that nothing wrong was done being put on the accused's shoulders. Without Wallflower reaching out and telling Sunset about what she did to her, what can Sunset do? How can she make up for wrongs she didn't even know she committed?
10893289
That’s a perk? Sounds like a pain.
So there’s no good or evil in this series?
I’ll be honest, that’s a lot.
10893336
It can be both, but you're right, immortality is surprisingly painful for mortals.
Oh no, there is, it's just that most of the time individual characters are a mix of both. They are neither angels nor devils (er, for the most part), but Men.
10893361
Oh so they can live forever? I just thought they lived longer than normal.
You also say “this series”. Is there a specific name or is that just the name?
10893425
Their lives are bound to Gaea's now, and Gaea's immortal, so yes they are.
I've been trying to come up with a name for it for a while, and now I think I've finally found one I'm happy with. This series as a whole is "The Song of the Spheres," subdivided into three main parts; "The Children of the Storm," telling the story of Cloudsdale, "The Seekers of the Stars," telling the story of Castellot and Crystal City, and "The Heirs of the Everfree," telling the story of the Everfree Forest.
10894012
Those are some odd names.
10894039
I'm an odd person.
10894066
Are there reasons for those names? Are they meant for foreshadowing or something?
10894138
"The Song of the Spheres" is a philosophical concept, one that says that there is a pattern, a musical (though inaudible) pattern, to the movements of celestial bodies like the Sun, Moon, and stars. Here, it references both the fact that this story is a tale (a "Song") and how momentous the events in it are ("the Spheres" are in space, a region far beyond the mundane everyday).
"The Children of the Storm" is meant to reflect both the physical weather of Cloudsdale as well as the fact that its inhabitants were raised in harsher conditions than most of the other states, making them children of both the physical storms of the weather and the metaphorical storms of life.
"The Seekers of the Stars" is meant to reference the stars, literal, which Castellot/Crystal City are frequently associated with, and metaphorical, in the form of Sunset and Starlight. In addition, searching is one of the main themes of that arc, whether it's the Unmarked searching for meaning, Shining searching for justice, or Sunset searching for her friends. "The Children of the Storm" is a test of various characters' character, while "The Seekers of the Stars" is about finding out what those characters are.
"The Heirs of the Everfree," on the other hand, is about legacy, about your choices and the impact they have on the world. Namely, this arc's about Gaea's legacy, from her diplomatic blunders with the Nilfin to whatever she did to Stumper and Wallflower. It's about what happens after the test of character from "The Children of the Storm," what happens after The Big Battle or The Big Event. What do you do after your trial of fire? What legacy do you leave behind?
Mainly, though, I just thought they all sounded good.
10894200
Wow, you put a lot of thought into it.
10894232
Like I said in the spoiler, I chose most of them just because I thought they sounded good.
Just as I was writing that comment, actually.
10894247
Honestly, it doesn’t seem like it.
10894348
What, how I came up with their meanings on the fly?
10894448
Yeah. It seemed planned for a while.
10894573
Well, I didn't come up with them completely on the fly. I used what I'd already written/planned to write as a foundation, then built the rest of the descriptions off of that.
10895722
So you came up with the names almost on the fly by using the descriptions and what’s going on in the stories?
10895752
Yep.
10895797
Ok, I think I get it.
10901645
The nilfins are the elves talking to wallflower, right?
So basically control?
She also said doe at the end of her and fluttershy’s names. What does that mean?
She named trees?
Is that how long ago she was turned it is that how old she is in general?
Did something happen to it?
That was during the wolf attack, right?
10901719
Yep.
More self-restraint, but yes.
It's her female equivalent to stag/buck, meaning a young woman. Basically, it's her word for girl.
No, the trees named themselves and told her their names. What made you think she named trees, that's so strange.
Yes: Stumper. She was, shall we say, less than pleased to discover something threatening the person Gaea was hoping to recruit.
Yep.
10905979
There’s a portal that is not only leaking magic but also leads to a world full of magic and naming trees is strange?
May have forgotten about that.
Yikes, R.I.P to the wolf I guess.
Those wolves do not play when it comes to kill.
10906036
It was a joke. Sorry for the confusion.
If you're trying to kill something so that it's safe to eat, wouldn't you want to make sure it was dead? Playing around in matters of survival is not a good idea.
10906531
My bad. That kinda went over my head.
True.
10906602
S'alright.